2018 Minnesota Middle School Association Annual Conference

Carrie Schmitz is in her eighth year of teaching at the secondary level and is currently an 8th grade English Language Arts teacher at Albany Area Middle School. In 2009, she earned a bachelor's degree in English from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa and - more recently - earned a master's degree in literacy education from Hamline University in St. Paul. She carries licenses in both communication arts/literature and reading. In addition to teaching, she also serves on her school's building leadership team, serves as a mentor teacher, and works with several student groups including the middle school Knowledge Bowl team and the Novelists of Today and Tomorrow.

While Carrie has taught English at all levels between 7th and 11th grades, teaching 8th grade has been her favorite by far. Her particular passions revolve around reaching out to and building positive relationships with all students and promoting a culture of reading for pleasure. Outside of teaching, she loves to spend time with her husband and her two young daughters, read young adult literature, and bake.